Raise Up This Child

  
Dearest Father,

Raise up this child so that he might know and revere You. 

Raise him up that he might stand for what You stand for. 

Nourish him that he might be strong for You, willing to confidently go and profess Your name to the masses. 

Gift him with the ability to see Your vision and to execute Your plans.

Grow him in the ways of knowledge, wisdom, insight, and understanding. 

Remove all fear from his life and rid his path of ungodly obstacles that mean him harm. 

Raise him up to not only recognize Your voice, but also to heed Your voice. 

Help him to discover You in all things and to be in awe of Your touch of grace on all creation. 

Raise him up to be a holy man of God, a faithful follower of Christ and a Spirit-infused student of the Word.

Guide and instruct him on the ways of pure and true worship and praise.

Cover him with Your love and let that love from You extend outward.

Raise up this child so that he might not back down from the fight ahead of him – a world gone chaotic, where bad is perceived as good, where ideals are traded for idols, and where the voices of the depraved strike out against any and all things that are in line with Your truth.

Raise him up to witness to a generation and people who need hope, have lost hope, and are constantly praying to You about the hope found in Christ.

Teach him about the blessing of surrender. 

Grant him with a heart to serve and to give and live like Christ.

Raise him up! 

I speak this over every child, in every family, in every place, in every circumstance. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Recommended Scripture Reflection: Psalm 23

(Photo courtesy of we heart it)

BREATHE|A Phone Tree Bible Study Experience ( Week 8)

Thoughts… (My Reflections & Considerations)
So much came from my reading this week that I don’t even know where to begin! In order to make things simple enough to digest, I have decided to share the main points I learned as “Hear Me” points.

Week 8 “Hear Me” Points ->
1) We are loved by the eternal God who is not only the LORD God Provider, but He is also the LORD God Truth.
2) We can always trust God to communicate AND orchestrate His perfect plan, which will forever be THE perfect plan.

Words… (Scriptural References and Study Points)
– Read and study Exodus 16.
– Identify at least three ways that the LORD manifests His presence and provision in these verses.
– What is it important for us, as a people of God, to learn from Exodus 16:28?
– What do these verses teach us about trusting and depending on God?
– Reflect on Psalm 23’s “I shall not want” message and the LORD’s Prayer words, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
– What is the underlying Sabbath principle focus for this week?

Actions… (Life Application)

Recite these words out loud daily…”LORD, I trust You to provide the just right amount of what I truly need.”

“Listen for the rhythms of God’s grace and live according to its cadence – easy, light, full of mercy.”

Beautiful Mess (PTBS – 1)

A Phone Tree Bible Study based on Beautiful Mess: Motherhood for Every Moment by Sherry Surratt and Tracey Eyster

As much as women desire to be mothers, sometimes the challenges and circumstances are not what they ever expected.

Phone Tree Bible Study Focus Topic: Week 1: Day 1 – > This Feels Overwhelming

The Beautiful (Resonating Quotes from the Book): “…you do not have to have all the answers. In fact, you won’t always have the answers. God understands…”

The Mess (The Takeaway from the Lesson): Being a mom is one of the most challenging and rewarding works that one can ever know. There are good days. There are great days. There are bad days. But every day in and of itself is, most certainly, a God day. Therein lies our peace, our solace, and our comfort.

The Beautiful Mess Assignment for the Week: Write down a list of all your messes. Pray over each one of them. Next, go to a trusted friend, mentor, or beloved prayer warrior and have them pray for and with you regarding each mess.

The Scripture Reflection for the Week: Psalm 23

The Question: When you are in the midst of feeling overwhelmed by life circumstances, family drama, and/or personal pains, do you seek the LORD as the Shepherd of your soul?

If you have secured your copy of this title, go ahead and read Week 1 in its entirety. Read all of the referenced Scripture material and answer the questions.

The Greatest Lessons I’ve Learned This Year

My OneWord365 focus for 2013 was RELEASE. In it, I had hoped to find the place where grace and freedom intersected. I believe the LORD, indeed, showed me the place where these two came and come together.

Through this RELEASE journey, the Most High granted me greater understanding of who He is and who I am in Him. I would like to share the greatest lessons that I have learned this year with you.

1) I must be willing to let go of myself if I mean to grab hold of the LORD. (John 3:30)

2) Love rules. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

3) Wholeness is possible in Christ. (Isaiah 53 and Psalm 23)

4) Living Water must be consumed daily in order to combat spiritual dryness. (John 4:14)

5) Even a prostitute can be loved, forgiven, and transformed into a princess. (Luke 7:36-50 and Hosea)

6) Faith-walking requires much prayer, sincere praise, and a heart surrendered to worship. (Character Study: David)

7) The supernatural God cannot be defined or categorized in the natural. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

As 2014 gets ready to make its debut and I prepare for my next OneWord365 adventure, I will be quietly reflecting and praying. I invite you to peruse the archives and review the lessons that I have learned along the way this year. I also invite you to share the lessons that you have learned in 2013 here in the comment section of this post. Feel free to either summarize or add a link or two to your most meaningful posts. Your words may edify, encourage, ignite, or inspire someone else.

I look forward to connecting with you in the new year. I pray God’s best for you both now and in the future. Until we speak again, please know that you are loved in Christ.

God Bless,

Kim

Loving God with Our Wholeness

About a week ago, I was talking with a most beloved cousin about Bible study and about loving God with a whole heart. One shared thought led to another, and we soon decided that we would study together.

“We love but not always with our wholeness.” – L.K. Neither

The more we talked, the more our study began to assume a more defined shape. In the end, we elected to theme our study, Loving God with Our Wholeness. Our mission became one of finding out what that really meant and what it truly looked like in our lives.

Today, my sincere intent is to share with you some of the discoveries the Holy Spirit led me to make…so far.

– Loving God with our wholeness is not about anything we can do on our own.

– Loving God with our wholeness comes from the One that lives around us, as well as inside of us.

– Loving God with our wholeness begins and ends with the Word. (Also see Lk 10:27; Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30)

– Loving God with our wholeness involves releasing the fullness of self, which looks like the pouring out of our person before God.

– Loving God with our wholeness causes us to forget about ourselves and who we think we are.

– Loving God with our wholeness is about a life consumed with bringing God glory and that is focused on worshipping Him. (Study the life and psalms of David.)

“Loving God with our wholeness means we will live doing His whole will; it means we will do things that please Him and not ourselves.” – Eva Kim

Spiritual Life Fitness Challenge: Read and meditate on the following verses -> Psalm 18:1, 9:1, 23, 119:97.

Question 4U: What do you think Loving God with Our Wholeness means and/or looks like?